Between Bars and Pizza Pockets
by steepedinshadows419
Summary: College!AU - Valentine's Day is a few days away. Cisco and Caitlin are best friends hiding their feelings for each other. When Cisco sets Caitlin up on a blind date with his best friend, Barry, it sparks nerves...and confessions. Cisco/Caitlin.
1. Part 1

**A/N:** Companion piece to _"Love at Jitters."_ My first killervibe fic, so encouraging comments are appreciated. :P This will be a 2-part fic.

 ***** Many thanks to my beta, **sendtherain** , and the much appraised killervibe fic-writer genius, **mosylu** , for looking this over before I posted.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

...

 **Part 1**

Six months ago Caitlin Snow turned twenty-one. Cisco Ramon, her best friend since freshman year, had turned twenty-one almost exactly one month prior and had launched into the most enthusiastic, logical argument he could muster as to why going out to get drunk was a good idea.

 _A rite of passage_ , he'd said. _A new experience_ , he'd insisted. _A chance to forget all your troubles_ , he'd all but sang to her in a higher-pitched voice than he could physically muster.

Caitlin's response was to scrunch up her nose and ask, " _But what if I do something stupid?_ "

It took a moment, but he'd managed to bounce back with, " _I'll make sure you don't."_

To which she'd retorted, " _And how will you do that if you're drunk, too?"_

" _I won't get drunk_ ," he'd lied, and she'd indicated her suspicion with a raised eyebrow but not a word to make him cave. " _One drink_ ," he'd pleaded. And with puppy dog eyes like those, she'd eventually conceded.

She'd taken two sips of her one drink that night and then proclaimed she was full, even though she hadn't eaten a single thing all day.

He'd side-eyed her suspiciously but decided not to push and they'd ended up at Big Belly Burger. The night hadn't been a waste. They'd had fun. But Cisco had made it his personal mission to inconspicuously get her drunk at some point within the next year.

He didn't know why he had such a drive to do it, though there was a nagging voice inside him that crept up at the most annoying times and told him _exactly_ why he needed so desperately for the beautiful, incredibly intelligent, ever emotionally-guarded Caitlin Snow to get drunk.

 _People tell the truth when they're drunk_ , someone had told him once.

There was one particular truth that was driving Cisco crazy, and he didn't have the courage to just ask her. It wasn't that he was afraid she'd lie. She was nothing if not honest. More like he was afraid of what answer she'd give him and how sugar-coated it would be.

 _Do you like me?_

And not like, like _friends_ -like, but _like_ -like.

For all his academic and technological skills, when Cisco looked at Caitlin, he felt completely out of her league and completely consumed with butterflies. It'd been this way since the moment they met.

But also, they had a good thing going. A good friendship. He didn't want to ruin that. He didn't want things to get awkward if she found out how he felt and didn't feel the same way; which was why only in his most secret moments when he didn't stop to think, the reality of why he _really_ wanted her to get drunk slammed into him. Other than that, he insisted on the reasons he'd used to try and convince her initially – _rite of passage, new experience, a chance to forget all your troubles_.

The only trouble _he_ had was getting her out of his head. Once he knew how she felt, he was certain he could do that.

But now that the moment was upon him, he found himself fumbling and muttering under his breath and failing completely in getting her to answer his question. Even worse was that his questions thus far had yet to approximate their feelings for each other. Instead he'd just asked if she was enjoying her drink – the _third_ one; she'd insisted on more after she'd managed to snatch a drinks menu and become dazzled by all the options.

"So, how's this one?" Cisco nudged her, snapping out of his flustered mindset just in time to quickly grab her elbow before she toppled over the other side of her chair. "Hey, hey, careful there."

Caitlin giggled, smiling up at him, hair strewn across her face.

"S-Sorry. I guess I'm a little tipsyyyy."

 _Tipsy_ was an understatement, but Cisco couldn't help but smile. She was an adorable drunk.

"I feel like you should've warned me this might happen before we went out for drinks," he teased. Then his eyes widened at the implication. "As _friends_."

The emphasis told him loud and clear why he hadn't asked her his _question_ yet. He was nowhere near drunk enough to do so. In fact, he wasn't drunk at all.

"Frieeeendszzz," she buzzed her lips, then patted his cheek. "You are a good friend, Cisco. A _great_ friend."

He forced a smile. "Yep. I'm the best."

Suddenly her head whipped around, her curls flying onto his face. He had to open his mouth to release some of them.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered conspiratorially, then turned to face him.

"Hear what?" he asked, licking his lips for any trace of the dirty blonde locks.

"You didn't hear that?" Her eyes wide, she stared at him, as if he held all the answers in life.

He was sure he didn't, but he wasn't so sure about her eyes. Deep and bottomless and complimenting her hair and skin tone perfectly. He could drown in those doe eyes. Especially when she smiled. Or when she was explaining some new scientific fact she'd just discovered. Or an experiment she'd just performed. Or when she was complimenting some new toy he'd made – _machinery_ , other people called them apparently.

"Cisco!" She snapped her fingers, but it was sloppy and made no sound, causing her to look down and frown at the failure.

Cisco blinked and brought himself back to the present.

"Hmm?"

She sighed, aggravated.

"You are not listening to me!" She huffed, then waved her hand in the air, no doubt hoping to get the waiter's attention.

Cisco quickly brought her arm down and pinned it to her lap, ignoring for the time being how warm and sheer her dress was.

"I'm listening," he assured her. "Tell me."

She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't remember _now_." She suddenly took on a dignified air and straightened in her seat. "How about you ask me tomorrow in class," she suggested.

He shook his head.

"Tomorrow is Sunday, Caitlin. We don't have class on Sundays."

She frowned, and then perked up again.

"So we can come here again!" she cheered, then leaned forward like she had a secret. "Because we're _twenty-one_ now," she giggled. He wanted to laugh at the irony. "We can drink as much as we want and they won't arrest us!"

Instead he gave a pained groan and forced himself to keep his mouth shut on the matter of just how long they'd already been twenty-one and how opposed she'd been to drinking or even entering a bar.

"How about I take you home?" he suggested. She looked about to interject so he quickly continued. "I have a proposition for you."

"Ooo, a proposal?" Her eyes widened with glee, and she practically jumped to her feet as he pulled her out of her tipping chair. "Are you gonna ask me to marry you, Cisco?" she teased, jabbing him in the gut.

Cisco flushed.

"What are you doing for Valentine's Day?" he asked, guiding her out of the bar.

She gasped. "You're going to propose to me on _Valentine's Day_? That is so _sweet_ , Cisco!"

He just barely caught her when her high-high heels nearly caused her to topple over.

"How about we just get a cab?" he suggested, abandoning any further attempt to ask her his question.

Caitlin frowned in response. "Why?" she asked innocently. "I can walk."

He blinked, but her expression never faltered.

"You can walk to the cab," he said.

It took a few moments, but a flashing grin very suddenly appeared on her face.

"Okay, sounds good, Cisco! Can't wait!"

She strutted out of the bar determinedly, Cisco close at her heels.

…

Caitlin's face scrunched up the next morning when sunlight started to stream through her bedroom window.

When it didn't go away ten seconds later, she fumbled around for the other pillow on her bed to protect her face from the heat.

She felt her arm warming up instead and grew frustrated.

She turned in bed, fidgeting about until she was comfortably buried beneath her covers and between both pillows. But then her alarm went off and she groaned.

"It's Sunday," she cried out. "Why is my alarm going off on Sunday?"

She tossed her pillows to the side, blindly reached for her phone, and glared at it before it even deigned to show her the time.

3:00 p.m.

Her jaw dropped.

" _Cisco_ ," she whispered, horrified when she saw the 10 plus texts he'd left her – and one voicemail.

She pulled back the sheets and her phone with them, which was quite a feat as it was still plugged in. Then she went to her full-length mirror and studied her haphazard form. She grimaced.

Then the headache hit.

Her phone rang.

Holding a hand to her head, she looked at the phone in her hand, the cord still dangling, saw it was Cisco and immediately put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

It kept ringing. She pulled it back and realized she hadn't pressed the answer key. She shook her head and willed herself to come out of this fuzzy state she was in.

"Hi," she said, answering the call correctly this time.

"You answered!" Cisco said cheerily, to which Caitlin cringed.

"Not so loud," she whispered harshly.

She could almost hear Cisco grinning through the phone.

"It's 3 p.m., Snow. I'd have thought you'd be over that nasty hangover by now."

She scowled and went into the bathroom to prepare herself a cool washcloth, flinching at the bright light and quickly deciding she could perform the task without one on.

"I just woke up."

"So, that explains why you didn't respond to any of the messages I sent you."

"Yeah, I—" She dropped the phone suddenly when the bile started to gather in her throat. She lurched across the room just in time to deposit it into the toilet.

By the time she got back to the phone, her limbs felt like jelly.

"Hey," she said weakly. "I'm back."

"I'm coming over," he announced.

Her eyes widened, and she straightened.

"What? No!"

"You sound terrible. You _feel_ terrible."

"No, Cisco. And how do you even kn—" She stopped herself before she finished the question, instead choosing to clear her throat and take command on the conversation. "It's just a hangover, Cisco. It sucks, but I'm not going to die."

There was a knock at the door. She sighed.

"Hold on."

She waddled out into the hall and then made it to the door, scolding herself after she'd opened it. It really was a good idea to look through the peephole first.

She blinked, stared and flinched at the bright hallway light.

"Caitlin Snow." Cisco grinned shamelessly.

She sighed again, then moved to the side and opened the door wider so he could enter.

"Please, _come in_."

"I detect snark," he said, "But I'm willing to overlook it, given the circumstances."

She closed the door, folded her arms beneath her breasts and raised an eyebrow when she turned to look at him.

"The circumstances being?"

"You feel like crap."

"I _look_ like crap," she muttered.

"You look like you have a _hangover_ ," he corrected. "Your _first_ hangover, too." He pulled out a bottle from the lunch bag he had tucked under his arm.

"What's that?" She scrunched up her nose, suspicious.

"The cure to your hangover," he beamed.

"What's in it?" she asked, curious now.

"It's…probably better if you don't know that."

She cringed.

"Fair enough."

She did not really want to know what made her better anyway. If it made her feel better and it wasn't an illegal drug or more alcohol, she would take it.

She reached for it, but he held it away from her. She frowned, not speaking.

"Why don't we put it in something first," he advised. "If you drink it as is, you'll throw it up before it gets to your throat."

She swallowed, already feeling the bile returning.

"Good idea," she said.

In under a minute, she found a day-old banana smoothie in her fridge and turned to face him.

"Will this work?"

Cisco debated for a moment.

"Probably."

"Great. Let's do this."

She planted the smoothie on the counter and then pulled Cisco towards her.

"Hurry," she urged. "I'd like to not feel sick now please."

He smiled a little and then poured the concoction into her smoothie.

"Your wish is my command."

…

Caitlin snuck into her classroom early Monday morning, well before class started. Her goal was to get herself "in the zone", as Cisco often referred to it. In other words, she put herself in a quiet environment outside her apartment where few other people would interrupt her and simply enveloped herself in the scientific facts that would dictate her academic future.

After incidents such as her latest drunk mishap – something she fully planned not to partake in again anytime soon - she found this practice to be especially helpful. It gave her mind and body a reboot back to reality, and sorted her priorities in a way that few other things could.

But today her mental cleansing via the empty chemistry lab did not go as planned, because when Caitlin walked into the unlocked room, she found she had company.

"Cisco." She frowned.

"Wow," he said around a sucker sticking out of his mouth. He sucked it once and then pulled it out. "You really are happy to see me, aren't you?"

Caitlin continued to frown. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. She took a half step towards him, then almost tripped over her own feet.

"I…wh-… _no_."

Cisco's eyes widened. His jaw dropped.

"I mean, yes! _Yes_ , Cisco, I am very happy to see you," she assured him, beaming just a little too forcefully.

He blinked and then laughed.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, almost stomping her foot.

He shook his head and walked over to her.

"You are a _terrible_ liar."

"I…" Her shoulders slumped. "Alright, fine, it's just that I was—"

"Doing your mental cleansing, I know," he finished. Her brows furrowed as her head tilted to the side in confusion. "I know you, Caitlin," he explained. "My concoction—" Caitlin grimaced at the mention. "It gets rid of nausea and headaches and dizziness—"

"All of which I'm very grateful for," she said quickly.

"Right." He paused. "This is your thing, though. It gets you focused again, so you can function and keep being the wonderful scientist-in-training that I lo—"

Both their eyes widened as Cisco's voice cut out completely. After what felt like an eon later, he cleared his throat.

"The uh…girl that I love to _spend time with_ ," he said, not meeting her eyes. "Who is my _best friend_ ," he concluded, able to meet them then.

Caitlin smiled tremulously. Then her eyes narrowed in irritation.

"What?" he asked, panicked, a cold sweat developing.

She huffed. " _Nothing_."

Cisco's blatant stare demanded she continue.

"It's just…" She rolled her eyes and folded her arms beneath her breasts, clearly irritated. "What about that one _guy_?" she demanded.

Cisco blinked, confused.

"I don't follow."

"You know…that guy…"

Cisco shook his head slowly, still lost.

"Barry something?" she offered up.

"Ah, yes, Barry Allen."

She nodded, avoiding eye contact.

"My roommate," he said.

"And your best friend," she muttered under her breath.

He laughed.

"Caitlin Snow, are you jealous?"

She scoffed. "Please."

"Because, you know, it's okay if you are. I am, after all, a very _charming_ man. Who _wouldn't_ want to be best friends with me?"

Caitlin tried to be irritated, but she succumbed to the smile anyway.

"Are you saying he's _not_ your best friend?"

Cisco sighed and shook his head at her, marveling at her behavior, how she could suddenly be insecure about their relationship and possessive of him – _as a_ **_friend_** , he reminded himself.

"Caitlin, Barry and I have known each other since we were kids. He's my best friend."

Her brows furrowed and her nose scrunched up.

"Then what am I? And how come I've never met him?"

"That," he lifted a finger in a gesture, "is actually why I interrupted your little…cleanse this morning."

"Well, technically I hadn't started yet, so—"

"What are you doing for Valentine's Day?" he cut her off.

She blinked, then her drunken night came back to her in a rush. She blushed fiercely when she recalled how she'd jumped to the conclusion that Cisco was going to propose to her on Valentine's Day.

She cleared her throat.

"You were serious about that then?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah," he nodded, scrutinizing her almost beyond what she could bear.

"Well, I suppose I don't have any plans…beyond studying of course."

Cisco rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that she couldn't entirely comprehend, but she suspected was not meant to be flattery.

Her eyebrows narrowed.

"Studying is the key to a successful academic career, Cisco."

Cisco managed with an effort to not roll his eyes again.

"How about just this once you try to embrace the holiday?" He folded his arms across his chest, on the verge of glaring at her. "I thought all you chicks dig this holiday anyway."

She scoffed. "I take offense to that."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I am not…a… _chick_."

The smile and the laughter that followed was inevitable. Caitlin was even more infuriated when Cisco succumbed to it. The sound was infectious though, and soon she found herself following suit.

"Okay, stop – _stop_ ," she demanded, still bubbling up laughter.

Cisco bit down on his lip to suppress the giddy sounds pouring out of him.

"Sorry."

He still smiled shamelessly, but he managed to keep it from turning into anything else.

"But, uh…" he continued, then cleared his throat. "Don't you…like the holiday at all? Getting chocolates? Roses? Going to see a cheesy romantic comedy?"

Caitlin gave a short laugh. It was all amusement and no humor.

"You're assuming I get those things on a regular basis."

Cisco blinked.

"Don't tell me you've never gone on a date before."

"Once or twice," she admitted.

Cisco's initial shock subsided slightly.

"But never on Valentine's Day, and not for a very long time either. And never…well, you know."

"What?"

"I've never… 'gone steady' with anyone," she said.

Cisco's laughter was easy to suppress because the awe was so overwhelming.

"You've never…?"

"No." A cold resolve formed on her face. "Stop gawking. I'm not the only woman in the world to still be a virgin at twenty-one."

Cisco felt like he'd rammed straight into a brick wall. Caitlin felt the impact a second later. Her eyes widened; her legs felt like jelly.

"I…" She lost her voice.

"Caitlin-"

"I mean…"

"Maybe that's—"

"TMI. I know, I know!" She ran a hand through her curls so that her bangs split awkwardly, then planted her hand firmly on the nearest lab table. "You know, this is why you should _not_ have interrupted my cleanse before I finished!"

Cisco decided not to point out what she had earlier – that she hadn't started her cleanse before she saw him.

"Okay, look." He took a deep breath. "I'll just forget I heard that."

Caitlin nodded her head rapidly and groaned as quietly as she could manage.

"What I came in to ask you, since I figured maybe you could do me a favor since I helped you out the other night…"

"Yep, yep. Sure. Anything." She bobbed her head, not looking up at him – absolutely _refusing_ to.

He sighed and took the plunge.

"Okay, well, Barry – my roommate –" He ignored her repeated quiet groan and mumbling _mhmm_. "He's never had what you would call a, uh, successful Valentine's Day either. So I was…hoping maybe you'd let me set you up on a blind date with him?" He cringed even as he said it, but the tone was enough to make her look up at him.

"A blind date."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"With your best friend."

"My roommate," he clarified.

"Who is _also_ your best friend."

"Cait—"

She held up a hand to cut him off.

"I'll do it."

He blinked. "You will?"

She nodded.

"You won't stand him up?"

She laughed – a short, amused, humorless one again.

"If you meet my conditions, I swear on my love of science, I will not stand up your roommate."

"What conditions?" he asked warily.

She took a deep breath.

"That you'll keep your word and forget what I just said…a moment ago."

"Well…yeah. I mean, why wouldn't I?" he shrugged, his voice squeaking a little.

"You promise?" she demanded, holding out her pinky.

He looked down at her slightly bent outstretched pinky finger and told himself not to smile. It was too risky at this venture. Instead he nodded once and wrapped his pinky around hers.

"Promise."

She released him a moment later and then dropped her hand.

"I don't want this to be a traditional, cheesy date though," she informed him.

"Of-of course not. Whatever you want," he said, eager for this conversation to be over.

"I want it to be in a bar."

He blinked. His lips parted. After what went down just a couple nights earlier, and the cleanse she was just about to partake in, that was the last requirement he would've expected her to make.

"A bar."

"Does your friend not _like_ bars, Cisco?"

He took a moment and thought about his best friend, Barry. The nerd who studied too much and got more excited over mathematical equations than he did over the ongoing debate of Star Wars and Star Trek. The guy who drank more coffee than was good for him and never the decaf option that Cisco so strongly suggested.

But Caitlin's eyes were wide and determined and she was not going to say yes to anything but what she wanted at the moment. He would just have to somehow convince Barry that a bar was the best possible location for a spur of the moment blind Valentine's Day date.

"He likes bars," he assured her, smiling too bright.

"Great," she said, smiling an equally terrifying amount. "Then I promise you, I will not stand him up."

Cisco laughed a little nervously and then proceeded to move around her towards the door.

"Great, that's…great. I'll…" He cleared his throat. "I'll tell him. You…you have a good – a _great_ – day, Caitlin. Okay?"

She raised her eyebrows.

"Right, yeah, of course you will." A short distance from the doorway, Cisco inched his foot across the way. "Okay, see you later, byeee."

A quick, fast, little wave, and then he was gone.

...

 **A/N:** I hope you enjoyed. Part 2 will be up soon. (I really mean it this time. It is already written  & just needs to be beta'd. :) )


	2. Part 2

**A/N:** Part 2. I hope you enjoy. It's super cute, I promise. ;)

 ***** Many thanks again to **sendtherain** and **mosylu** , who continue to be awesome.

 ***** I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.

...

 **Part 2**

Cisco sat in his living room, staring at the Star Wars DVDs and nearly cold pizza pockets sitting before him on the coffee table.

 _This was what you wanted_ , he reminded himself, not for the first time.

"She's way out of your league," he said aloud, figuring there was no shame with the whole apartment empty other than himself. "Besides, you just like her as a friend."

He heard laughter that strangely sounded like an evil version of himself coming from inside his head. He closed his eyes and groaned.

"Who are you kidding, Francisco?" His eyes flashed open. "Even Barry figured it out."

He grumbled, as he leaned forward, staring at the objects in front of him again.

" _Sounds like_ _ **you**_ _want to go out with her_ ," Barry had remarked.

In the safety of his vacant home, Cisco could admit he was right.

He leaned back into the couch and set his feet on the table, only slightly aware of their placement lest they knock over his movies or his food. He glanced at the latter and sighed hopelessly.

 _"_ _If you steal my pizza pockets one more time, Cisco Ramon, I will not be responsible for my actions!"_ Caitlin had threatened once.

He was aware it was a problem, that he always proceeded to devour any pizza pockets that were left in Caitlin's freezer when he stopped by her apartment before class.

The fact was they were yummy, and Caitlin always had them. And okay, she more often than not snacked on them even when they weren't in her apartment, and so he found he always had a taste for them whenever he saw her.

Or when he thought of her. Which was often.

It dawned on him that maybe that was the reason he was eating them now.

Except he wasn't eating them. He was letting them get cold and not even watching one of the six movies he'd planned to get through by morning. Because he wanted her with him instead.

And he'd just set her up with his best friend.

He groaned again, and prayed to whatever being had the most power that Barry's complete lack of game would be enough to turn Caitlin off.

 _Maybe Barry won't be attracted to her_ , he thought wistfully. _And maybe she won't be attracted to him!_ Maybe the evening would be so horribly awkward and painful that they'd end the night early and forget the whole thing ever took place.

 _Was he the worst best friend or what?_

He repositioned himself so he was laying across the couch, hands tucked behind his head. Briefly, he imagined himself in a therapy session.

Caitlin's words flashed through his mind again, as did the determined, quasi-embarrassed look on her face when she spewed them.

 _"_ _I'm not the only woman in the world to still be a virgin at twenty-one."_

It was nothing to be ashamed of. He'd only been with one other person himself. And he supposed it made sense. Caitlin had very high expectations. She wouldn't have sex just for the sake of having it. Plus, as had been proven many times over, she very rarely let herself cut loose without regard for what might happen.

It only made sense that if – _when_ – Caitlin Snow decided to have sex, she would be in a meaningful relationship, and she would trust that person implicitly.

 _She wouldn't trust Barry after just a few drinks at a bar, right?_

Sweat started to bead on his forehead. It multiplied when he envisioned his two best friends together. He shook his head to rid himself of the video playing over in his head, but it was only replaced by a vision of himself with Caitlin in that exact scenario.

"Ohhhkay, Cisco." He stood to his feet and started to pace.

He hated when this happened. Going from angry to hurt to jealous to horny was not a good look for him. He could only thank his lucky stars that it happened when he was alone.

"Just watch your Star Wars movies, Cisco," he told himself, still pacing. "Watch _Empire Strikes Back_ – easily the best one. No, no, _New Hope_ is a classic. Watch that one." He picked up each of the DVD cases and started flipping through them so quickly that they almost flew across the room.

"The prequels should be last," he decided. "Maybe when you're struggling to keep your eyes open. Since they suck." He stopped walking and sighed, momentarily distracted by his love for the saga. "But they are important," he said aloud. "Because they complete the story."

A knock at the door, and he dropped the movies.

"Cisco?" came Caitlin's voice, and he nearly fainted. "Cisco, are you in there?"

He glanced down at his crotch and found her voice had made him semi-erect again.

"I am in Hell." He glared.

"Cisco?" She sounded unsure now.

He cleared his throat and just barely managed to come off as surprised.

"Caitlin?"

Relief colored her voice.

"Oh, thank god, you're here. I need your help. Can I come in?"

She sounded panicked, which concerned him, and helped somewhat with his problem. He couldn't abandon her even in his own peril.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

He went to the door, opened it, and found Caitlin in all her glory – dirty blonde hair curled and shining, her make-up done, and the glittery black dress he'd assumed she was going to wear (because she wore it every time they went out to a bar) donning her figure.

"Wow," he managed, eyes wide, pulse racing.

"Is it too much?" she asked nervously, looking down and start to fidget.

"No, uh, not at all." He got behind the door and opened it wider. Once she walked through, he quickly shut it and deposited himself back on the couch, firmly placing a massive pillow on his lap.

"What –" He cleared his throat and tried again. "What did you uh, want to talk about?"

Caitlin sighed and sat down next to him.

"Is this a good idea, Cisco?" She turned to face him, her eyes deep and pleading for the truth.

How to proceed, he wondered, fairly certain that a _Date me, Caitlin!_ was not the correct route to go.

"The uh, the dress? Or, uh…?" He lost his voice, but apparently she didn't notice.

"The whole thing!" She threw her arms up and then dropped them to her side. "I haven't been on a date in five years," she deadpanned. "I don't know what I'm doing. And if your roommate doesn't know either, the whole thing will be a disaster."

This, he recognized, was the panic that _should_ have been in his mind when this exact same scenario occurred to him.

"I'm sure it won't be a disaster," he hedged, inching closer to her on the couch even though he knew it was a bad idea. Even worse was him stretching his arm in the most obvious way so it settled behind her on the couch. "Barry's a good guy. Even if the date sucks, he'll make it good for you."

 _Make it good for you?!_ Cisco was scandalized by his unthinking slip of the tongue.

Caitlin remained oblivious.

"I suppose."

She sank back into the couch and swallowed hard.

"I guess I'm just nervous," she said quietly, then turned her head to look at him. "I've never really been a fan of blind dates. I don't like the idea of going out with someone I've never met before."

"He's not some stranger, Caitlin." He swiped some of her curls from her shoulder. "He's my best friend. Just like you are."

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, then proceeded to fold her arms beneath her breasts, which considerably enhanced her cleavage. Cisco had to count to ten slowly in order to avoid applying more pressure to the pillow on his lap.

"Does he know who I am?" she demanded.

Cisco thought back to his earlier conversation with Barry.

 _"_ _She's probably the best friend I have besides you."_

 _"_ _And yet I've never met her."_

"He knows… _of_ you," he said carefully.

She blinked. "Just like I know of him?"

"Well…" His voice squeaked.

"Cisco," she warned, her eyes narrowing. "How much does this Barry know about me?"

"Nothing!" he said instantly. Her eyes widened. "I mean, he knows you and I are friends. He knows we've been friends for a while. But…I don't really talk about you with him. He doesn't even know your name."

She frowned. "Why not?"

"Why doesn't he know your name? Well, that would kind of defeat the purpose of a blind date then, wouldn—"

"No, no, no, not that. Why haven't you talked about me with him?"

He flushed. "Did you want me to?"

She shrugged. "I talk about you with my friends."

He wanted to say 'what friends' but was smart enough not to.

"You do?"

She nodded. "And to my mom," she added. "She could probably care less, though."

He felt a heady happiness hovering over him.

"What do you say about me?" he grinned.

Caitlin blushed, and he knew in that moment that she wished she could take it back.

"Tell me," he pushed, throwing caution to the wind and wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he pulled her close.

"C-c-cisco." She pushed him slightly, and he felt the shivers that went up and down her arms.

 _Could she maybe?_

He felt dazed.

"Should I be worried?" he asked, even though he wasn't in the slightest.

She overcame her embarrassment and faced him directly.

"What? No! All good stuff, I promise."

He grinned and daringly leaned in, whispering, " _What_ good stuff?"

Caitlin caught her breath.

"Just uh…" She swallowed again. "Just that you're nice and smart and that you're going to make an amazing engineer someday."

"Anything else?" he asked, even though that knowledge alone was enough to satisfy him for days, maybe forever.

"I…I don't think so," she stuttered.

He wasn't sure, but he figured that meant there was.

"I didn't tell Barry about you because you are way out of his league," he said, deciding to relent on teasing her.

She blinked. "I am?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "Way out of my league too," he said without thinking.

She averted his eyes. "Well, I'm not sure about that one. If anything, _you're_ out of _mine_."

He said nothing, and she shifted uncomfortably. He wanted to answer her, but he was stuck on the implications of what she was saying.

"Well," she squeaked. "You uh, you said this dress works, right?" He said nothing, so she kept going. "You did. I remember you saying that just a minute ago, which means I have nothing to worry about. And if you think I'm out of Barry's league, then I feel better already. I can end the night early and he probably won't be any the wiser."

She stood to her feet, almost toppling over when she got there. Cisco saw the blush travel up her neck as he watched her round the couch and head for the door. Her hand was on the knob before he registered his mind shouting at him – _Go after her!_

"Caitlin, wait!"

He tossed the pillow aside and got to the door just moments before she opened it.

"What is it?" she asked innocently, forcing a smile but not totally able to meet his eyes.

"You want to know why I didn't talk to Barry about you that much all these years?"

Hesitantly she met his eyes, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Why?"

He took a deep breath. "Because I didn't want him to get interested."

Her brows furrowed. "I don't understand. If you didn't want him to be interested, then why tonight would you—"

"Because, I, _me_ ," His hands flew about. "I wanted you to be interested in _me_."

Her jaw dropped, and she stared.

He pulled his hand down his face and sighed.

"But, we had such a good thing going with our friendship here, and I was in denial about my feelings for you, and so I just…"

"You wanted to prove to yourself that you didn't have feelings for me," she concluded.

He hung his head. "Yeah. That…" he laughed nervously. "That pretty much sums it up."

Caitlin started to smile. It didn't take long for Cisco to sense it. When he looked up at her he couldn't decide if he should succumb to his awe of her beauty or his fear of her next words.

"What?" he asked, his lips twitching.

She burst out with one happy laugh and then draped her arms around his neck.

"I like you, Cisco."

He blinked. "Yeah?"

"Mhmm." She nodded. Her smile spread to his face.

"Like, how much? Do you like me like friends or do you like me like—"

She cut him off, kissing him, pulling him to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Oh," Cisco said, reminding himself to breathe when they finally pulled apart. "You like me like _that_."

Caitlin giggled. "Yep."

"For, uh…for how long?"

"Would you tease me mercilessly if I said from the beginning?"

He felt as though he'd been hit over the head with a sledgehammer.

"Only if you tease me," he said breathlessly, looking at her dazed.

"Yeah?" Her grin spread so wide it looked like it hurt. Cisco was practically lightheaded knowing he was the cause of it.

"Yeah." He nodded, his eyes lowering to her lips again.

Caitlin's blush covered all the pale skin on her face, but she melted into him when his face inched towards hers again and wholeheartedly succumbed to his kiss.

"You ever seen Star Wars?" he murmured against her lips when they parted again.

At that moment all she wanted was to make out with him, but to please him she said, "Nope."

"Want to?" he grinned, looking gleefully into her eyes.

"Can I go home first?" she asked to which he frowned. "If I'm staying here with you, and not going out…I want to be comfortable."

His smile resumed. "Problem solved, my friend."

He released her and started to head towards his bedroom.

" _Girl_ friend," she chirped, which made him pause. He turned around and looked at her, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped.

" _Girlfriend_?"

She cleared her throat. "I mean…if you want."

His cheeks hurt with how wide he was smiling. But before he could embrace her again, he went with purpose to his room, dug out what he was looking for and returned to her.

"What are these?" she asked, taking the set of pink PJs he'd brought her.

"You left them at that one lock-in study group we went to. Remember, the only one you let yourself go to because I promised there wouldn't be alcohol and that you'd studied enough for one week?"

She started to smile. "Right. They required us to wear pajamas the whole night." She looked down at them and shook her head. "And I wore my pink bunny ones like a fool."

"I wore Power Rangers," he retorted.

She looked up at him and smiled with a twinkle in her eye.

"True."

"I'll change into mine, you change into yours…meet up in five minutes for Star Wars and pizza pockets?"

With an effort, Caitlin shifted her gaze to the table and the pizza pockets that lay there.

"Eating yours instead of mine?" She looked back at him with dramatic flair. "Scandalous."

He grinned. "I figured I owe you."

"So…" She bit her bottom lip, not meeting his eyes again, just waiting.

"Girlfriend. Definitely girlfriend," he confirmed and kissed her again.

...

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading. Happy reviews are love. :)


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